Local officials, business owners and shoppers, stand in the parking lot, after a fire broke out at the Aldrich Plaza Shopping Center on Rt. 9 North in Howell, Monday, June 23, 2014,
Photographer/Mary Frank

A fire at Colonial Coffee Shoppe led to the evacuation of several businesses at Aldrich Plaza on Route 9 in Howell.Fire at Aldrich Plaza shopping center on Rt. 9 N in Howell, Monday, June 23, 2014.
MARY FRANK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ASB 0624 HOWELL FIRE Employees of Walgreen's wait outside in the parking lot after a fire broke out at the Aldrich Plaza Shopping Center on Rt. 9 North in Howell, Monday, June 23, 2014,
Photographer/Mary Frank

Two other businesses on either side of the coffee shop also sustained damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Southard Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Ryan said.

The fire was reported after 3:43 p.m. at Colonial Coffee Shoppe, which was closed at the time of the fire, according to Assistant Chief Daniel Ryan of Southard Fire Department. Southard firefighters were first to arrive with an engine and had to break down the door in the rear of the coffee shop to get inside, Ryan said.

The coffee shop Facebook page lists its business hours as 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the week.

"The fire started in the Colonial Coffee Shop and Spread to Red Moon and China Moon, located on either side," Ryan said.

"There was heavy smoke in the back of all three of those stores. After they got inside, firefighters could see the fire in the distance in the middle of the colonial coffee shop," Ryan said.

Ryan, who was first to arrive at the fire scene, saw smoke coming from the roof of the coffee shop.

The fire was declared under control within a half hour to 45 minutes, Ryan said.

Colonial Coffee Shoppe was the most extensively damaged, Ryan said.

"Colonial Coffee Shoppe has to be totally rebuilt. Red Moon has minor damage by the ovens and the same with China Moon. There was some minor fire extension," Ryan said.

Firefighters opened doors to the businesses in the plaza and used fans to ventilate other buildings which had smoke in them, including the karate store and the dry cleaners, Ryan said. The dry cleaners had a large exhaust fan which helped keep smoke from getting into the building and any clothing, Ryan said.

Some business owners said they smelled smoke, but smoke detectors did not go off until later.

"I had three customers and two pizzas in the oven when I saw the smoke. So I everyone they had to get out, took the pizzas out of the oven and went outside," said Michael Rinaldi, whose family has owned Red Moon Restaurant and Pizza for 45 years.

Rinaldi said he noticed the smoke smell, but couldn't determine from where it was coming.

"Then we noticed a thin layer of smoke in the dining room and we saw it coming through the wall. We ran outside and we could see it was the coffee shop," Rinaldi said.

Jose DeLeon, senior instructor at Art Beins Karate, smelled smoke and later saw gray smoke coming from the roof of the coffee shop.

"We kept walking around going where is this smoke coming from. We could smell it but we couldn't figure it out, then we went outside and saw the coffee shop. The windows were black. The smoke was coming off the roof and it was a pretty big plume," said DeLeon.

He and a staff of six instructors left the building, then cancelled classes for the day. They stood on the parking lot of the plaza watching as firefighters dragged hose toward the single story building at Route 9 and Aldrich Road.

Jacquelin Braun, a nurse assistant at Reliance Walk In Family Medicine, said 14 patients and staff were inside the building when they started smelling smoke.

"I smelled something and I asked the person near me if they had been at a barbecue. We never expected this," said Braun.

Braun's office site manager Lori Hellmund said she had gone to the bank and was heading back to the medical office when she saw fire trucks.

"I thought to myself it was probably our building and right then, my phone rang and it was my office telling me there was a fire," Hellmund said.

More than 50 firefighters from Southard, Freewood Acres, Ramtown, Adelphia and Squankum fire departments responded, Jackson Station 55 and Jackson Station 54, along with Howell Police EMS and Howell First Aid and Rescue.